When Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl first hit bookshelves in 2012, publishers quickly raced to replicate its success and, as a result, a summer doesn’t go by without a new mystery being labeled “this year’s” version of the best-selling modern classic. The same can be said about the film industry: first David Fincher adapted Flynn’s novel to great success and, now, lesser directors have churned out rip-offs and carbon copies of the same story. Paul Feig is the latest director at bat for this distinct subgenre … but his version of the story, A Simple Favor, is a bit different. This is the We Came Together of female-driven crime thrillers about gender roles – and we’re better off for it.
Based on Darcey Bell’s novel of the same name, A Simple Favor starts off with a plot hook we’ve seen before. Anna Kendrick plays Stephanie, a widowed mommy blogger who dotes on her 5-year-old son, but devotes little time to her life outside of being a parent. She eventually strikes up an unlikely friendship with the mom of her son’s best friend, the mysterious Emily (Blake Lively), a working parent.
Before long, the two are sharing secrets over martinis. But, while Stephanie reveals her darkest secrets to her new friends, Emily keeps her emotional distance – which makes it all the more strange when she disappears shortly after asking Stephanie to pick up her son from school. And, in the grand tradition of crime dramas, Emily’s disappearance reveals that no one – not even her husband (Henry Golding) – know much about her.
But as Feig’s film goes along, its story goes from a suspenseful mystery into a full-on soap opera. That’s a compliment. There are enough twists in this film to fill three Gone Girl knock-offs, combining plot elements from Hitchcock, Verhoeven, and, of course, Gillian Flynn, but always escalating them to the highest point possible.
This is an absurd movie, with a convoluted main mystery, plus subplots about social media, incest, and drug addiction thrown in for good measure – and it’s all performed with a wink and a nod to the audience. There are some pacing problems, specifically in the middle. It’s very hard to tell how much time actually goes by between major plot points, which makes certain sequences feel unintentionally rushed. But, by the time the film reaches its final act, everyone is having a ton of fun onscreen, behind the scenes, and in the audience.
This film only works with the right cast, so it’s fortunate that Feig cast the three perfect actors for these parts. Henry Golding, Hollywood’s latest leading man (last seen in Crazy Rich Asians), evokes an old-Hollywood movie star with style, only to subvert that image slightly as the twists become unveiled.
Blake Lively, meanwhile, churns in a performance that feels reminiscent of ’90s era Angelina Jolie as she brings a rock star’s edginess to the role that still feels natural. But this is very much Kendrick’s show… so much so that the movie probably would be a catastrophe without her. Kendrick is a gifted comedic actress, but she has a dark, manic edge that feels a bit unsettling. Feig knows how to play with that quality and, as a result, Kendrick gives her best performance since her Oscar nominated turn in Up in the Air nearly ten years ago.
A Simple Favor feels like a natural extension of 2018 in cinema. For one thing, it’s a mid-budget, genre film that’s causing some cultural conversation – a trend we are seeing both in theaters and on streaming services. It’s also a phenomenal example of contemporary costume design (Blake Lively’s pantsuits deserve fourth billing). And, of course, it’s a female-led crime thriller about gender roles – one of the 2010s most profitable genres. But A Simple Favor feels like a wholly different beast, standing out amongst its subgenre and the other films from this year. For that reason, it’s worth seeking out.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10
